Warbringers
The Warbringers ' ''The Host Unyielding, the Golden-Armed Vanguard, the War-made Space Marines convinced of their own superiority over the common Man, the '''Warbringers see their responsibility as greater than simple weapons of war. Instead, they believe they represent the first step above, and that they must guide humanity in both war and peace. Built on top of this inherent sense of superiority is a war record filled with battlefield honours and glories to impress even the highest ranks of nobility. When the Warbringers go to war, it is rarely alone as they are often supported by the Imperial Army and auxiliary units. Always, the Warbringers command their lessers as they advance toward the enemy. It is this legion that would earn the Emperor's judgement at Baal for their forbidden work in genetics. It would be this legion that would side with Icarion only for their road to take an unexpected turn deep in the Insurrection. Legion History Few names bear as much meaning as that of the Warbringers. For decades the stalwart vanguard of the Great Crusade, they would earn fame in the hearts of lesser men for their nobility and value of auxiliary lives. Advancing before them as a single tide, never falling back, the Warbringers were an example of Astartes nobility. Their primarch, Kozja Darzalas, was known to the other legions as the savior of the XI and XVII, although the former would later be destroyed by unknown fates. Some say it is that strife for correcting flaws which led the legion to a darker path of genetic re-engineering, one which would ultimately see its actions censured at Baal by the Emperor himself. Humiliated, their apothecarion shattered, the Warbringers sought to shine again, but the world is so made that they never got the chance to, for the Stormborn comforted them in the righteousness of their forbidden actions, ensuing that they would follow in his path of destruction across the Galaxy. But, as History has shown, a coat turned once can easily be turned once more, and the Warbringers along with the Warriors of Peace and Steel Legion would prove instrumental to the Stormlord's demise. Origins: A Tide of Steel The original recruits of what would become the Ninth Legion were mustered from the various bellicose city-states of Pansylvania, a loose and unstable confederacy of merc-families and fortified conurbations lodged between the powerful Terawatt Clans and the states of Europa. A region prone to conflict even during the millennia prior to Old Night, its inhabitants were united in the belief that their race had been created for war by the gods themselves. When the Emperor and his Thunder Warriors came to the Pansylvaniaks, he was met by volleys of fire from antiquated weapons and iron discipline, much like what he would later see from the Ironsides of Albia. However, unlike the Albians, the Pansylvaniaks complied quickly once they realized that they were fighting War incarnate. It was upon the ruins of the White Fortress that the council of warlords was assembled before the Emperor, and in this bleak display they all swore allegiance, some with reluctance, most with eagerness, but all on their own accord. When the Imperium sought recruits for the Legiones Astartes project, the warriors of Pansylvania heartily gave their child soldiers, for the opportunity to be forged for war was too great to pass. In time, additional recruits would be gathered from Jermanic and Urshine stock, owing to shared cultural ancestry. Early documentation attests that the IXth Legion's gene-seed put terrible strain on the subject. Whether this was a defect, or a deliberate measure designed to weed out the weaker elements from the proto-Legio, is left to speculation. Despite this apparent biological elitism, many survived the rough treatment of implantation, furthering the Pansylvaniak belief that they had been created as warriors. This in turn was distilled in the legion as purposeful and unbreakable discipline in battle, exemplified by its earliest recorded battle: the Culling of Valerian Hive and the final destruction of the Valerian Neanthropes. For millenia a bastion of forbidden knowledge, the single hive of the pseudo-region of Oxytan hosted many bright alchemysts, flesh-shapers, and gene-wrights. Yet they refused to bow to the nascent Imperium; those few diplomats that returned had been subjected to unspeakable experiments. In the eyes of the Emperor, such defiance would not go unanswered. War was declared. From the arcologies came an army of augmented tech-barbarians in partial power armour. Against them walked four companies of the newborn IXth, the two forces roughly matched in numbers and materiel. But the Neanthropes, for all their augmentations, fought as a disorganised horde, each one rampaging in his way. In contrast, the Astartes marched in line, never once breaking formation even at the peak of the battle. Though they may have been stronger or quicker, the Oxytani were quickly beatten by superior discipline and coordination, a veritable tide of steel and ceramite crashing against them. In the aftermath of the battle, a macabre scene showed the corpses of the enemy commanders crucified as a last display of superiority by the Ninth. The Hive was subsequently sacked, its esoteric savants enslaved, and its arcologies left to burn. Such was the price for those who would not comply. Strela During the Dark Age of Technology, Strela was an industrial world, famed for its production of vehicles of all sorts. However with the advent of the Age of Strife it was engulfed in warp-storms, cut from its client-worlds, leading to great famines. War erupted for the control of the planet's rare fertile lands, and the great factories were destroyed to make way for the growth of cultures, their machinery salvaged as weapons. It was on that world, drowned in ceaseless war, that a comet struck the sky, bearing within it what would become the nineteenth primarch. The pod crashed on the ruins of a battlefield, as the victors were tending to their wounded and burying their dead. The strange contraption was far too advanced to be of Strelian design, and too ominous to have been a mere weapon. Scavengers rushed toward it, eager to steal whatever riches it might have contained. Inside they found only a child, whom they left in a shell-crater, instead choosing to recycle the pod's plating as armour. The infant primarch crawled through the hell-scape, only to cross the path of medical officers desperately trying to save a maimed soldier. These were more considerate, and took the child as a fellow tribe-member. He was given the name Kozja, a hero of ancient legends said to have emerged from among the dead. Early on, Kozja displayed great curiosity towards life, owing to his kinship with the “corpse-walkers”, these brave few who ventured on the battlefields in desperate search of survivors. His posthuman intellect granted him an almost instinctive understanding of human biology, and after a few years he grew to be the greatest surgeon of the Darzalas host. But still war raged upon Strela, and the primarch put his skills at use, at first devising drugs to increase the combat effectiveness of his troops. The first battle involving these augmented warriors was a triumph, and Kozja saw an opportunity to test his scientific prowess. From then on, he would strive to make his soldiers stronger, hardier, superior to their foes in every way. This way, he thought, his nation could conquer the whole planet, and Strela would at last know peace. But he also sought to emulate his own, inhuman design, for he had quickly discovered his nature as a post-human, an experiment lost in the wastes. Attempt to reverse-engineer his body led to no concrete results, but he learnt a great deal on genetics. These, rather than combat drugs, were the way forward. In ten years the Darzalans grew to prominence, their Genetnik Cossacks overwhelming all foes, unifying the main continents, famine being eradicated by the creation of hardier crops. Soon there was but one foe remaining: Zalmoxis, a kingdom entrenched in a mountainous massif, protected by a sprawl of fortresses, and whose soldiers wore powered plate armour, not dissimilar to those used on Terra during Old Night. The people of Darzalas had elected for Kozja to lead the offensive from the forefront, as their general and creator. Genetnik flesh clashed with rebel steel. Augmented muscles struggled against hydraulic pistons. Combat drugs and nerve-staples denied both sides the feeling of pain, as bullets and axes sundered armor plates. Kozja himself ensured that each citadel taken would hoist his heraldry of two crossed swords. While both forces were roughly equal at an individual level, the cossacks had the advantage of numbers, while their foes were working with a limited and dwindling arsenal of power-suits, without which they were doomed in close quarters. So it is that by the time Kozja came to depose the opposing king, his guard were the only ones left with the fabled armours, the rest fighting with whatever rifle they could scavenge. When Kozja returned to his homeland, it was as a hero. The celebrations for his victory in the last campaign culminated in his crowning as King of the Strelians, the alabaster and gold of the planet's past glories restored upon him. Delegations from every nation came to bow before him. The last of these delegations went unannounced, giants in armours even greater than those of the Zalmoxites. The three foremost were a figure of authority in white and black, a mighty polearm in his hands; a smaller leader in purple armour, bearing a mighty shield; but the most intriguing was the gold-clad man. Kozja felt him as many things, a ruler, a warrior, a wizard, but here he saw him as a creator and gene-wright. As if hearing all the questions in his head, the giant extended his hand and declared: "Kozja Darzalas, subject Nine of Twenty, I am the Emperor of Mankind. I created you and your brothers to lead Humanity to reunite the Galaxy, as you created your host to unite this world. From your blood did I make these warriors, the ninth Legiones Astartes. Do you accept your duty, and take command of your sons and legion?" The answer was immediate: "If such is my birthright, then let it be my duty to lead them across the Stars. For Mankind, and for your Empire." A Legion Healed In contrast to other primarchs, the circumstances of Kozja's reunification with his legion are particularly well documented. While all of them spent some time on Terra in the presence of their Father – with the notable exceptions of Yucahu of the IVth – to learn the matters of the Imperium and train on warfare, Darzalas was then sent to the Selenar gene-cults, a pilgrimage Pionus Santor and the Jade General would later follow in their times. Sources are contradictory on the duration of his stay on Luna, extremes placing it between six months and three years, followed by a return to Strela and him taking command of his Legion in 832.M30. What he learnt there is subject to much conjecture, but it is known for a fact that he assisted the gene-wrights in their attempts to correct the flaws in the implantation process of the XIth and XVIIth Legions. While these flaws were not corrected, they were at least stabilised, leaving little more than five hundred warriors in each proto-Legion, referred to as Alpha-groups by official imperial authorities. To the Alabaster Prince, they would be known as the Precious Thousand, taken under the wings of the Warbringers and elevated to positions of command, wary of having their elusive progenoids lost on some desolate battlefield. With the gift of hindsight, one cannot help but see how this assignment led to Darzalas believing he would inherit of the Astartes Project once the Crusade ended, sowing the first seeds of successionist – and later secessionist – sentiments in his mind. Great Crusade Defense against WAAAGH! Gobsmacka Prosecution of Baal Aftermath ___ With the Asklepian Fellowship disbanded and their headquarters erased from History, one task remained on Strela for Constantin Valdor: though only the ceremonial master of the Fellowship, Kozja Darzalas had received regular reports on the progress of the Apothecaries at the Ziggurat; what’s more, his brain had been designed by the Emperor himself, and his memory was perfect to a degree of .1 percent. To remain free, Darzalas would have to submit to a mind scrub, in which he would give up all recollection of the Asklepian's findings. Reluctantly, the lord of the Voitely bowed to the Emperor's order - under the supervision of the Adeptus Custodes and a delegation of Crimson Lions, he travelled to Mars, where ancient Magi of the Mechanicum and a whole Astropathic Choir, along with the last surviving members of the Selenar Gene-cults, toiled night and day to a full Terran Standard year, in which time every recollection of the genetic heresy was wiped. The Icarion Insurrection Day of Revelation Main page: Day of Revelation The Iphigenian Ambush: as Azus Bahmut and Kozja Darzalas had been close in the years preceding the Prosecution of Baal, Icarion chose the master of the IX to destroy the Dune Serpents’ forces. Still reeling from the mind scrub that had been his sentence from the Emperor, Kozja relished this opportunity to prove himself to the Stormborn. Darzalas scrupulously prepared the setting for his ambush upon the world of Iphigenia…. …. Ultimately fails, both to kill Azus and to destroy any large portion of the Dune Serpents Battle of the Forge First Solar War The Insurrection Wears On Recollections As some of his brothers' legions drew ever further away from sanity, Kozja began to feel uneasy: originally, he had followed Icarion's plans for the Day of Revelation in the hope that they would get their Father to hear their pleas, or at most to depose Him, should he still prove uncooperative. However, he had heard the desperate cackle of Socraes Travier, he had seen the preternatural speed at which the Drowned moved, and he had witnessed the mad butchery perpetrated by the Berserkers of Uran. Even noble Icarion had changed, though in more subtle ways. Inwardly, he knew that, while still refusing the gifts offered in a half whisper from behind his shoulder, and without new equipment from Mars, the Warbringers would ultimately be surpassed and destroyed, whether by the Loyalist faction or his own. With no ready alternative, Kozja decided to reform the Asklepian Fellowship: this time, there would be, could be, no restraint. Kozja at first began to make plans to call the surviving Asklepians back to Strela, but as he received few answers in the midst of the great warp-storms created by the Lord Anasem, he soon saw that another mean would be necessary: he would have to find once more the memories that were taken from him, long ago in the wake of Vizenko's Prosecution. Consultations with his Legion's Librarium and Astropaths told him that alone, the Warbringers lacked the necessary knowledge to bring back the missing memories - finally, resigned to his fate, Darzalas called upon the only people he felt could be willing, and able, to help him in his plight: his brother, Nomus Sardauk. Not only was the lord of the XVIII as master of technologies, his knowledge of an Astartes' cognitive abilities was unparalleled throughout the galaxy: though his own talents had not been on trial at Baal, Sardauk had also made it clear from the very beginning that he supported Kozja, even though their differing personalities had never bought them to consider each other as friends. To the Ninth's relief, Sardauk accepted his invitation: whether out of a shared sense of purpose, or of curiosity for this unique access to another Primarch's brain, Kozja did not care; he thought only of retrieving the knowledge lost in the folds of his own White Matter. And so, Kozja and Nomus began to work on the former's brain. Everything had been prepared: holo-scans, conventional and augmetic tools, any relevant documentation that could be found... and yet, as soon as Sardauk began to remove his brother's brain pan, Kozja began to convulse - - only to awaken again, a second later. In truth, three years had passed: in that time, First Knyaz Perkenas had commanded the Legion, taking them to several minor victories, but the Legion's numbers had been mauled: however skilled Perkenas may be, he was no match for a Primarch; the fortification of the Jagellonic System had continued, but at a slower pace in his absence; more generally, the war continued, Icarion's troops gradually engulfing the galaxy and bringing it under Madrigal's control. Once Kozja had been bought up to speed on the general state of his Legion and the War, he accepted a meeting with Nomus Sardauk, to discuss the outcome of his operation. Instead of finding only Sardauk as he had expected, though, he was also greeted by the Jade General: together, the three brothers discussed how incising Kozja's brain had sprung a psychic trap, designed to unleash psionic energy throughout the Primarch's neurons, to prevent him from recovering the hidden knowledge of the Asklepians. To save him, Nomus ordered the thrashing Kozja be frozen in stasis, then decided to call upon the Jade General: another supporter of genetic manipulation and a psychic Pariah, the General could well have been Kozja's only hope of surviving the psychic backlash and recovering the coveted memories. Then, Kozja spoke to them of his own experience: in his pain, he had been visited by visions, false futures from universes where his brothers and he were replaced with strange imitations, or else had switched sides, or had been transformed into dark creatures of the warp... a single constant permeated throughout: there was only war. In every incarnation, whether the Insurrectionists were defeated or whether they killed the Emperor, each reality was engulfed in endless conflict for the survival of the human race, even if its soul could no longer exist. He then exposed his plan: one that may save them and at least a little portion of mankind, even if the rest of the galaxy burned. He planned to secede, both from the Imperium and the Empire of Madrigal, creating a new realm in which the singular pursuit of the survival of humanity would take precedence over all other ethical rules. As one, the Primarchs held out the wrists, and in that handshake, the creation of the Suzerainty was sealed. Secession: the Suzerainty Lorem Ipsum The Siege of Madrigal Lorem Ipsum Lords among the Stars Logistics have often been said to be the essence of war. The ability to bring resources, information and troops from one place to another has in many conflicts been more important than numbers or weaponry. Never has it been more obvious than in the dark days of the Icarion Insurrection. Where other legions would acquire them by extortion or blackmail, the Stormlord ordered the Warbringers to secure the main trade routes around the Nova Imperium, be it by word, by gold or by sword. In return, the Astartes were gifted with governorship of the worlds they were bound to control. Oftentimes, these "Star Lords" withdrew themselves from active warfare, taking at heart the power they were granted. In extreme cases such as that of Knyaz Walian, entire sub-sectors were under the political rule of Astartes. With the advent of the Suzerainty, most of these garrisons turned against the traitors, constituting a backbone for the new state and depriving the Stormlord's forces from a vast materiel wealth. The Star-lords diplomatic approach, using a mixture of blockades, offers of protection, and material gifts was instrumental in the first stages of the Suzerainty's formation, placing Astartes in a position of distant, but still tangible, power without openly declaring martial war. Notably in those early stages, the life quality of civilian population on nominally Warbringer-owned worlds was on average better than on those under the sway of the Warriors of Peace or Steel Legion. Exemplary Battles go here Legion Organisation and Structure Hierarchy within the IXth Legion was a baroque, labyrinthine thing, taking in not only command and specialist rank, but standing in the warrior societies integral to the Legion. These bodies began from similar roots to the lodges promoted to Alexandros, but in practice they were profoundly different. Revolving around a particular martial discipline, they did not so much temporarily free an Astartes from the trappings of rank as immerse him in a different system of seniority. At the same time, while lodges might discretely exert influence on the broader Legion, in the Warbringers this influence was uniquely overt. They had their own livery, worn openly, and their ranks were widely known and used as honorifics. Pre-reunion Though initially formed according to the principles of the Terran Principia Belicosa, the Ninth Legion’s general organisation would subtly change within the first decades of the Great Crusade. By far the most radical departure from the norm came with the death of the first Legion Master and his successor elect during the Battle of the Exquine Falls. Elections were organised among the high officers of the Legion to choose a new Legion Master. Two factions formed around the leading candidates, Obrad Dimitrescu and Kharon Dasz. While the former wished to continue the Steel Guard’s legacy of protecting civilians, even at the risk of Legionnaries’ lives, the latter calculated that the Legion’s numbers would not truly recover from the Culling of Valerian Hive and the Exquine Falls unless they began to use more unsavory tactics, by making use of psychological warfare, forced Legion recruitment and ambush or guerilla warfare. The political stalemate would only be resolved when one of the supporters of Dimitrescu died under suspicious circumstances - immediately, that faction accused their opposers of murder, and a civil war within the Legion looked likely, until Malcador the Sigillite intervened: to avoid further inevitable tensions between members of each officers’ factions, he imposed a split of the Legion, each faction taking half of the Legionnaries with them. From there, both newly-made “Hetmans” would function as if they commanded separate Legions, taking recruits and participating in different expeditionary fleets as they saw fit. Post-reunion The Ninth Legion, once it was reunited with its primarch, was restructured not on the model of their sire's hosts, but rather on the long-lost aristocracy of ancient Strela, a return to a more noble past. Directly under the primarch stood a council of six hand-picked commanders, the Pernach, to advise and inform Darzalas on the affairs of the Legion and campaigns in progress. The highest standard rank was the Knyaz, roughly analog to the Terran-standard Lord Commander, leading a Principate. Beneath them served Boyars who led Marches, to whom fealty was sworn by Voiavodes – centurions by the Terran standard. Oftentimes two officers of equal rank assigned to the same campaign would clash, for while their hierarchical position were equivalent, none would accept to defer to the other, wishing to uphold their personal honour in the absence of explicit order. These quarrels would be solved not by dueling, but by endless comparisons of lineage, stateholding, titles and achievements. The Legion's Fellowships however operated according to a different hierarchy. The Bogatyrs used only four formal levels, which were not relevant on the individual's position in the wider legion, at least officially. These were the High-Master, singular leader of the fraternity who invariably had a seat in the Pernach; under him were Masters, who could induct and advise, but were ultimately of little importance in the hierarchy of the Order. The main body of the Bogatyrs were Men-at-Arms, regardless of whether they were highly reputed Knyazi or lowly sergeants – a lack of distinction that was mostly theoretical as official rank would seldom remain unnoticed. Finally Squires were newly-induced members who had not yet surpassed themselves, but showed promising enough to be granted the azure heraldry. The hierarchy of the Asklepians was comparatively complex, an intricate system of merit, individual actions, relation with non-Astartes personnel, and informal titles. These were due to a cultural blend of Darzalan and Selenite gene-wrights, legion apothecaries, and the influence of the XIth and XVIIth legions even after reunion with their respective lords. What is understood is that the Atrifos was the highest denomination, and served as the primarch's equerry. Other titles included Kalapsi, Syanocron, Isom-Octal and Adexin. These bore the purple of the original medicants of Darzalas, who raised the Primarch, the fraternity of Asklepias, and were bound by a code known as the Iso-cratic oath. Owing to their aristocratic background, heraldry formed an integral part of the Warbringers structure, to levels of importance and complexity only matched by the Knightly Houses in matters of imperial armed forces. The white plate was invariably adorned by a golden right arm, the most commonly given explanation being that of the Astartes brightness leading the purity of mankind. The black pauldron rims and adornments are of an unknown meaning, but assumed to hold one to the members of the legion. Although the legion's emblem –two crossed swords pointing downwards– can be thought to represent the Warbringers' nature as great swordsmen, there is no evidence to this, from their preference of gun-line warfare to Darzalas himself wielding a mace rather than a sword. Rather, it is a symbol of war in general, and the wars of Strelan unity in particular. The fact that they point downward is not innocuous: the IXth fights to protect humanity, not to sate its own bloodthirst. A sizable amount warriors chose to add decorative shields upon their armour, to display the arms of their birth province, serving as additional identifiers. Cloaks, although not as prevalent as the XII legion leg-skirts, were a staple of officer uniform, bearing many adornments of personal significance. Their main color is an indicator of the individual's position within the legion: white for line officers, azure for members of the Bogatyr order, sable for those of the Tryzub guard, and purpure for Asklepians. Veterancy was marked by spreading the gold to either the helm or the left pauldron, and other segments of the armour, making senior members of the Bogatyrs sometimes mistakable for Wardens of Light. Conversely, an extension of the black scheme was a sign of dishonour, these legionnaires who had utterly failed their legion and primarch covering their entire right arm, and adorning the Bar Sinister of bastard sons. Strelan Heraldic Houses During Old Night, the people of Strela fragmented into many different tribes, each formed around a strong warlord, a Knyaz. The Knyazi would often make war among themselves, each fighting for supremacy in a world where supremacy no longer meant anything. As time moved on, the descendants of a particularly influential Knyaz would begin referring to themselves as the sons and daughters of this tribal leader, seeing their ancestral blood as more important then their immediate family - together, they would claim the right to bear the sigil of that ancient Knyaz, and such conglomerations of individuals and families went on to call themselves Houses, pooling their resources to remain in power over several generations. When Zalmoxite Platers finally returned to Strela after fifty generations, meaning to begin trading more advanced weaponry for men and food, the Houses stepped forward to start this new relationship with the off-worlders. With these guns, they began to conquer surrounding tribes who had not had the chance to buy the weaponry, and thus were born the early Strelan Nations. As time moved on, the Platers bought ever more powerful artefacts and vehicles with them, and full Nations went to war with each other, the escalation causing ever more destruction and devastation. When Kozja took control of Darzala, the Houses of the nobility opposed him at first. Afraid of losing their power, they saw in him change made manifest. However, as his Genetnik Huszars pushed his conquests ever further, the nobility found that those who resisted Darzalas the most were generally those that lost the most members during the repression culls; conversely, the initial Darzalan Houses that had supported his claims to power fared best in his new government, where a parliament of nobles were even given the right to make political decisions in the Darzalan nation. As the pattern became apparent, more and more Houses decided to submit to Darzala, even before the Huszars were unleashed upon their borders, and soon all of Strela was under Kozja's control. When Kozja became sole ruler of the Jagellonic System, the noble Houses once more saw a threat to their new power that they held in Strela's parliament. Rather then let the Vostalan and Zalmoxite magnates be granted seats by Kozja without any supervision by the existing members of parliament, the noble Houses asked Kozja to allow them to "adopt" magnates, thereby making them integral parts of the existing Strelan Houses. The Alabaster Prince - seeing an opportunity to increase his realm's cohesion - granted them this right, and increased the size of the old Darzalan parliament to incorporate representatives of the nobility from both planets. On Kozja’s return from his time at the side of the Emperor in the Solar System, he found that Strela’s aristocracy had naturally continued their new tradition of adopting off-worlders, expanding that definition to the IX Legion. By this time of course, all pretence of keeping the Houses in a single blood line had been abandoned - instead, the Nobility had begun choosing new members according to shared values, such as loyalty, courage or tolerance. These new Patrician Astartes had started going to balls, presented as exemplars of the new order in which Strela would move forward as a major power in the galaxy. This, of course, suited Kozja’s plans perfectly - three lessons did he learn from his lessons on Terra and Luna: first, the Legiones Astartes were fundamentally superior to mortal humans; next, his Fathers’ talents and his own could help humanity finally leave Old Night behind it and once more flourish grandiose and dominant; last, but definitely not least, his brothers and their sons could not be trusted. By learning the ways of the court, the Legionaries of the IX would be moving to the forefront of the political arena - a necessary step on the way for Kozja to help mankind evolve and grow into its full potential. The Heraldic Houses of Strela followed the Warbringers into the stars. Though their existence skirted the very edges of the Emperor’s ban on Warrior Lodges, the formation of the Warbringers that was subject to most scrutiny was the Bogatyry. The Nobles of the Jagellonic system - whether Astartes, or officers of the Novadeka or simple civilians - were therefore free to mingle with the aristocracy throughout the galaxy, weaving a web of relations that should last for decades, if not centuries. To cement this relationship between the nobility and the Legion, and to further encourage investment in infrastructure by the Heraldic Houses, Kozja encouraged them to provide personal materiel to adopted Legionnaries - Legion Command Hierarchy The Ninth legion, once it was reunited with its Primarch, was restructured not on the model of their sire's hosts, but rather on the long-lost aristocracy of ancient Strela, a return to a more noble past. Directly under the Primarch stood a council of six hand-picked commanders, the Pernach, to advise and inform Darzalas on the affairs of the Legion and campaigns in progress. The highest standard rank was the Knyaz, roughly analogue to the Terran-standard Lord Commander, leading a Principate. Beneath them served Boyars who led Marches, to whom fealty was sworn by Voiavodes – centurions by the Terran standard. Often-times two officers of equal rank assigned to the same campaign would clash, for while their hierarchical position were equivalent, none would accept to defer to the other, wishing to uphold their personal honour in the absence of explicit order. These quarrels would be solved not by duelling, but by endless comparisons of lineage, state holding, titles and achievements. Promotion in the IX was handled drastically differently from most legions. Whereas other legions used skill at arms, heroic deeds, or time of service as a determining factor, the Warbringers used a more ritualised and archaic mean. During his service, an officer, regardless of his relative position within the Legion, would name a successor and teach him the tenets of command in the even of his death. This could explain, in part, how each warrior of the Ninth would try to prove his worth to his sires, eager to impress them so that he may be chosen to take his place in time. It may also be noted that, although linear succession was the norm, there have been several recorded cases where a mere legionary was raised directly to the rank of Voiavode, in spite of the formal organisation. These irregular promotions are, perhaps, the source of the many known examples of Order emblems not fitting with traditional ranks of an officer. The Fellowships The Fellowships of the Warbringers were formations of Astartes with greater strategic roles, then the simple military application in the Great Crusade. Some were formed before or during the Darzalan conquest of Strela under Kozja, others were only founded at the time of the Suzerainty’s secession. Kozja used them to further his goal of developing his realm, in the aim of creating a more efficient system to be governed by the genetically enhanced aristocracy at the heart of his government. Traditionally, the Warbringers legion was comprised of two brotherhoods, the Asklepians and the Bogatyrs. The founding of the Suzerainty however would see the birth of several more of these warrior orders, as Astartes replacement for various offices of the old Imperium. ''Asklepians'', the The most ancient of those orders, pre-dating even the Wars of Unity on Terra, the Asklepians were originally a brotherhood of military physicians in Darzalas. It was among them that Kozja was raised. With the coming of the Emperor, it became an extension of the legion's Apothecarion, and home to experiments that would be censured by the Vizenko prosecution, where it was formally dissolved; the Insurrection would see it rise again. The Asklepians bear purple adornments and arcane med-glyphs. Nominal leader: Atrefos Vlem Kelasor. ''Bogatyry'', the Knights Champion The Bogatyrs used only four formal levels, which were not relevant on the individual's position in the wider legion, at least officially. These were the High-Master, singular leader of the fraternity who invariably had a seat in the Pernach; under him were Masters, who could induct and advise, but were ultimately of little importance in the hierarchy of the Order. The main body of the Bogatyrs were Men-at-Arms, regardless of whether they were highly reputed knyazi or lowly seargents – a lack of distinction that was mostly theoretical as official rank would seldom remain unnoticed. Finally Squires were newly-induced members who had not yet surpassed themselves, but showed promising enough to be granted the azure heraldry. Named after the knightly heroes of ancient Strela, the Bogatyrs are a lodge of champions. These warriors seek to prove themselves to both their peers, their superiors, and themselves. Eschewing the legion's habitual long-range warfare, they detach from the line with blade and bludgeon, seeking the most worthy foe to claim for themselves. The blue-cloaked knights of the Bogatyrs are in a constant state of self-doubt and a quest to set example. Most of these are officers, and to fail themselves would be to fail their men, and in turn their legion. Nominal leader: Grand Maistre Perkenas. ''Zvaigzde Valdovas'', the Star Lords Originating from elements of the legion ordered to secure trade routes, they eventually formed into their own semi-renegade Trade Companies, before being reintegrated into the Warbringers proper by decree of the Quadriumvirate. They bear red cloaks and the heraldry of the Trade Companies. Nominal leader: Syndic Flash Vallant. ''Ksernaja Gvardyi'', the Black Guards A formation of both the Warbringers and the White Guard, the Blackguards oversaw the quelling of rebellions within the Suzerainty's territory. They were famously responsible for their part in the Cull of the Blackened Hosts, where defectors to both Terra and Madrigal were relentlessly purged. Their armour is entirely blackened, save for golden trims. Nominal leader: Opryshchnik Pjotr Dijevas. ''Grupa Stalnnoje'', the Steel Troops Despite their pretense of glory, nobility, and (post-)humanity, the Warbringers were still a legion, born to bring ruin; the Steel Troops were not of Darzalan culture, but raised with Vostalan principles. They were architects of destruction, siege-makers and ordinance-bearers, automasters and praevians. They bore grey coats and the iron axes of Vostala. Nominal leader: KomOrd Mykhal Vorsholev. ''Tarch Strelskaja'', the Shield of Strela Lorem Ipsum The New Decade During the great wars waged by Kozja Darzalas to unify his homeworld, the Primarch of the IX Legion levied ten regiments from the Jagellonic System he had conquered. These, in a mirror to the Terran "Old Hundred", were given the sobriquet of "New Decade", a number which would grow to thirteen in the dark days of the Insurrection and Revolution. II - Yurasil Chem-wolves Born from the savage raider tribes surrounding the Darzalan domains, quickly brought to heel by Kozja's unification wars, the chem-wolves were the first result of his experiments on the human form: alchem-amped warriors filled with aggression drugs and muscle growth factors, numbed by a constant stream of painkillers. Though not the most dignified of armies, the Chem-Wolves earned a fame during both Old Night and the Great Crusade as a weapon of terror, tearing through their foes with little regards for their integrity. V - Mogugrad Death-strike Hailing from the hive of Mogugrad, the most populous city -state of ruined Strela, the Death-Strike was comprised of enforcers of long-forgotten laws. Elite urban fighters, the Death-Strike could advance where Astartes could not, through tunnels, corridors and pipes, a distinctive advantage in boarding assault where a foe would find themselves surrounded on one side by the Warbringers and from behind by the Death-Strike. The regiment was known to favour several less orthodox ways of war, such as sabotage of air-cyclers and power infrastructure. VII - Arkanav Voltigeurs Fielded mainly as light infantry units, the Arkanav Voltigeurs operate as a scouting force, clearing the way for mainline infantry to cross. To them falls the duty of first engagement, to gauge the foe's strength and find breaches in their defences. The very first of their numbers were founded from the penitentiary battalions of the subjugated Arkanav bandit-clan who still roamed the roads in Darzalas' nascent empire. Of all the regiments of the Novadeka, it was counted among those whose survival rates were the most expansive, its officer cadres being of lower veterancy than the Imperial average. VIII - Kzarny Rad-Walkers During the great wars that plagued Strela during the Age of Strife, Kzarn was hit perhaps the hardest of the planet's nation-states. Ravaged by atomantic bombardment, its people was forced in underground vaults. Centuries later, they would emerge fundamentally changed. Beneath their rad-suits, their relentless troops were fitted with extensive augmetics to cope with the wasteland they had once called home. Even once united under Darzalas, the Kzarny were watched with fear among his troops. In battle, the Rad-Walkers can fight in every theatre of war, unfazed by noxious clouds, fire storms, nor atomantic fire. IX - Zalmoxite Cataphracts: Solar Auxilia The 10th and last of the hosts levied by Darzalas in the conquest of his homeworld, the Zalmoxites had kept stockpiles of STC-based powered armour, giving them an edge in mountainous environments where vehicles could not tread. When Imperial forces came to Strela, the Zalmoxite Cataphracts were inducted as a Solar-pattern regiment, but kept to their bulky signature suits, rather than the lighter Saturnyne-pattern plate. X - Vostala Ironclad Although Old Night took a heavy toll on the Strelans, one nation managed to remain prosperous despite centuries of war. Located in the inhospitable but resource-rich north of Avkha, the people of Vostala gained a reputation in their industrial capacity, and the devastating weaponry it allowed them to field. But when the Darzalans approached them with promises of a world once more united, the Committees voted in favour of an agreement. Soon enough this new province provided the nascent empire with brand new armoured divisions and hardy soldiers, whose plated suits are not dissimilar to those of contemporary Albian Ironsides on Terra. Specialist Formations The Pernach Kozja's military council, the Pernach was composed of six high ranking officers of the Legion all the way from its inception upon the IX’s reunification with its Primarch. Its first two members were the Hetmans, the highest of all military officers of the Legion. Originating from the co-masters of the Steel Guard, the Hetmans were chosen to lead whole sections of the Legion in the Primarch's absence. First Knyaz Darzala Perkenas has been Hetman of Jagellon since the death of his predecessor several years after Kozja took up the mantle of Master of the Legion, but the post of Hetman of Oneiron has been changed many times, few keeping the position more than nine years, leading to rumours of a curse set by the first Hetman Oneiron, Kharon Dasz, after his destitution by the Primarch. The third member of the Pernach was the Castellan of Strela. Though several worlds were used as recruitment grounds by the Warbringers, by far the largest pool of candidates was the world of Strela, and as such it was vitally important to keep it well protected, even in the absence of the Primarch and the Pernach: to do so, a Knyaz of the Legion was named every ten years by Kozja to act as master of recruits, and should the need arise as the overall general to rally the defence forces of the world. Though in theory the post could be held by any Knyaz of the Legion, tradition stated that the Primarch should hand the position to a nobleman of one of the Heraldic Houses of Ancient Mogugrad, the capital of Strela before Old Night. Based on the Zalmoxite Orbital Plate, the Admiral of Battlefleet Oneiron was the next member of the Pernach - never a glory hound, Wladislaw Strzelek had commanded the patrols that regularly criss-crossed the Cluster, rooting out rebels and pirates alike, from - The White Guard Created in the closing days of the Strelian Unity wars, the White Guard represents the pinnacle of Kozja Darzalas' biotechnical skill. Initially designed as a gift to his king, they would swear fealty to him on his crowning. Gene-augmented to levels unrivalled on Strela, they would only ever be surpassed with the coming of the Emperor and his Astartes. After taking command of his Legion, Darzalas would keep the White Guard as his main honor guard formation, aa a constant reminder of his own skill, whereas the Warbringers were the product of his father's craft. Some would point at this as a sign of hypocrisy from the Primarch who advocated Astartes superiority, others as yet another example of his devious experiments. War Disposition strength and materiel here Legion Combat Doctrine While often seen as a Legion that relied heavily on infantry gun-lines, the different constituent cultures that made the Warbringers’ recruitment grounds actually implied a much wider range of tactical diversity. From the stereotypical infantry companies armed with Bardiches to large jetbike cavalcades, and from smaller reconnaissance and sniper units to large squadrons of heavy armour, the IX Legion made use of many kinds of units and formations with different uses on the battlefield. For greater efficiency, expeditionary fleets would typically carry two or more Principates, meaning that the force’s overall commander could take full advantage of a unit’s strengths and reducing its weaknesses. Legion Gene-Seed Legion Beliefs Legion Domains Jagellonic System Though Strela became the Warbringers’ homeworld and took on the greatest importance for the Legion early on, the whole Jagellonic stellar system was part of their dominion. The System’s other large inhabited planet was Vostala, an industrial world that had sold the Strelans materiel for their ongoing wars. This commerce was made possible by the Zalmoxite Platers, the people of an orbital plate that had maintained intra-system voyage technology. Strela Zalmoxis Vostala Terran Domains Pansylvaniak Fortresses Valerian Hive Fortress Monasteries the Warbringers have several facilities that count as such. The Alabaster Palace is where Kozja reigns, oaths are sworn, and councils are held. Visualize golden domes/cones and marble spires. The Fortress of Asklep is where recruitment and training are given, as well as home to the most devious experiments. It is an ugly monolithic ziggurat, and goes deep underground. Lastly, the Trigolv is a hollowed-out mountain where the Novadeka has its headquarters. Legion Fleet Flagship: The Golden Renaissance Legion Relics Legion Allies Attaching a legio of the Triad Ferrum Morgulus to the Warbringers seems natural. As for the flagship's name, I know it had one at some point, but it disappeared in the hundreds of pages of discussions and I've never found it again. Notable Warbringers ]] *'Kozja Zladislawik Urafos-Asklep Svatogor Deventyzem Darzalas' - High King of all Strelians, Grand Prince of the Oneiron Cluster, Urafos of the Asklepian Order, Commander of the Bogatyrs, Shaper of Hosts, Primarch of the IXth Legion Astartes, the Voitely. *'First Knyaz Wojciech Perkenas, Hetman Strela, High Master of the Bogatyrs' - The Bogatyrs were a peculiar formation within the IXth Legion, in equal measures a class of specialized warriors and a closed order with its own inner hierarchy and command, though still answering to the standard order of battle. As the Warbringers usually formed a wide gun-line, advancing with bolter and armour, individual Bogatyrs would stand behind, until they found a foe worthy of their might. Only then would they rush with heavy melee, and duel the enemy with skillful bladework, to assert both the legion's superiority and their own self-worth. In this regard they were the sword to the Tryzub's shield. Its inner workings promoted self-doubt and striving towards greatness, which would follow them on their path to damnation as theses beliefs were twisted into superiority over mankind, rather than as part of it. The first soldier to have ever been named to the Bogatyrs by Kozja Darzalas during the destruction of the Yurasil Principality on Strela, Perkenas went on to become Darzalas' most trusted lieutenant, being so high in the Alabaster Prince's esteem that he was given sole command of the overthrowing of the Horse Lords of Arkanav. Feared both as a rider and a politician, he was often chosen to represent the golden-armed horde in the Darzalan Sejm. Upon ascension alongside his brothers of the original Huszars, Perkenas was made Knyaz of the first Darzalan Principate, the new formations of the IX Legion that were created from exclusively Jagellonic stock. Though the nominal leaders of the Legion were still __ and Dasz, Perkenas remained a prominent advisor to Kozja as the Grand Master of the Fellowship of the Bogatyrs, and there was no surprise when Perkenas was granted the Ceremonial Mace of a Hetman upon __'s death. *'Valsh Holzer', Knyaz 9th Principate Vostala - A young officer in the Vostalan armies at the time of Kozja's conquest of the Jagellonic System, Holzer kept his command into the very early days of the great crusade. Adopted by House Krogis upon his selection as an Astartes, he was originally made a sergeant in the 2nd Vostalan Principate, then was named as third Voiavode of that Principate. As he started to develop his own command style, his fellow officers began to question his choices: not only were his tactical choices unorthodox, he chose not to fight at the forefront of his lines as any honourable man should, but instead lead from the rear, accompanied by his faithful companions. When rumours spread of a mis-healed head wound from his mortal youth, Holzer resigned himself to his fate, knowing full well that he would never more be named heir to a mandate - from this point on, he was observed to be ever more eccentric, putting on weight despite his Astartes physiology, growing an elaborate moustache that was so large it stopped him from putting on his helm, and having his personal banner sown with the most garish of colours. However, in the years preceding the Qarith Triumph, the original Principates had grown to sizes that had become unwieldy to command for a single Astartes. Deciding to greatly expand the number of Principates in the Legion, Kozja chose the longest serving Voiavodes as Knyazi for the new formations - thus was Holzer made master of the 9th Vostalan Principate, much to his surprise. Nonetheless, Holzer took on his new command with vim and vigour. Continuing his streak of unorthodox behaviour, he split apart the traditional artillery brigade of Vostalan Principates, placing individual Rapiers alongside his tactical squads, allowing him to spread his lines appart, and recruiting large numbers of Auxilia to serve alongside his new-born Principate, breaking the accepted trend of only being accompanied by Auxilia of the same Principality as the Principate's origin. Though it seems his new tactics slowed the rate of his conquests compared to other Principates (the average length of one of his compliances being two days longer then that of his comrades), it did ensure a lower rate of losses both among the Astartes and his mortal Auxilia - perhaps more importantly, worlds were more often seized with intact infrastructure, making the 9th Vostalan Compliances of more worth to the Imperium in a shorter time period then the typical compliance. Holzer would not truly come into his own however until the Day of Revelation, when the IXth Legion were to ambush the Dune Serpents. Where other Knyazi performed their famous tactics of gunlines and jetbike assaults, Holzer placed his squads in covered positions with interweaving fields of fire. The Dune Serpents, perfectly adept at setting their own ambushes and aware of the Warbringers' traditional tactics, were easily able to evade most Knyazi's attacks - however, as they came against Holzer's units, they were torn apart, their armour units vulnerable to the heavy weapons protecting Holzer's infantry, and the larger part of the dune serpents' numbers vulnerable to the massed fire coming from many directions at once. *'Cezary Vizenko' *'Matej Asaev' *'Dagomir Mihailovic' - Recruited from Oxytan during the Culling of Valerian Hive, it is believed Mihailovic was an apprentice of the Neanthropes, the ruling class of flesh-shapers. Made an apothecary soon after his ascension, Mihailovic was present at the reunification of the Legion with the Primarch. Having witnessed the abominations crafted by the Valerian Neanthropes, Mihailovic was mistrusting of the experimentations performed by the Fellowship of Asklepians. When their master, Cezary Vizenko, was taken to Baal in chains to be judged by the Emperor of Mankind, Mihailovic believed he must testify, telling all present of his experiences as an apprentice of the abominable flesh-shapers of Oxytan, and how he believed that specific limits should be placed upon the legions to avoid similar bio-heresies to take place. He had not expected however the judgement of the Emperor to be so harsh, with the memories of members of the Asklepian being scoured and all their research ordered to be destroyed. As he himself had never been part of the Fellowship, the Adeptus Custodes charged him to take them throughout all parts of the Apothecarion and the Ziggurat of Asklep, where they burned all documents they could find. Though he had denounced his brothers and though he still believed that some of their curiosity should be curbed, Mihailovic could not bear to see all their findings destroyed in such a fashion - as such, he left out strategic elements of the library of the Asklepians, whose elements could be used to find once more the conclusions of the Asklepians. Mihailovic kept his secret for two years after the Prosecution of Baal, waiting for his Primarch to be returned to the Legion after his mind wipe being performed on Terra. During that time, he read the manuscripts and pages of calculations left behind in the purge of the Ziggurat, and deduced what Vizenko's final goal had been: far from the potential horrific creations he had envisioned them making, he found that they had in fact been operating under strict limitations set by the Primarch. After a while, he began finding errors in the calculations and corrected them without thinking, as absorbed as he was in the texts he read. By the time he had finished reading his predecessors' work, he had already started adding his own thoughts to the manuscripts, and he only found it natural then to go in search for genetic material within the Apothecarion's vaults, to analyse and experiment with new methods. By the time the Alabaster Prince was returned to Strela, Mihailovic had secretly founded a new incarnation of the Asklepian - this new version of the Fellowship included not only Apothecaries but also Techmarines, Chaplains and Librarians, any who could provide new ideas to the Great Work. When the Primarch was able to finally receive the Apothecary in private, Mihailovic presented to him a bound document, with Jagellonic runes inscribed on its cover: "Project Genesis - reflections on creating the One True Legiones Astartes." *'Flesz Dzielny', member of the Star Lords *'Opryshchnik Pjotr Dijevas', Master of the Ksernaja Gvardyi *'KomOrd Mykhal Vorsholev', Master of the Gruppa Stalnnoje *Kharon Dasz *'Vlem Kelasor', Chief Apothecary of the Warbringers after the Prosecution of Baal *'Galdan' - Father-brother to Kozja, once member of the Asklepian Legion Appearance Owing to their aristocratic background, heraldry formed an integral part of the Warbringers structure, to levels of importance and complexity only matched by the Knightly Houses in matters of imperial armed forces. The white plate was invariably adorned by a golden right arm, the most commonly given explanation being that of the Astartes brightness leading the purity of mankind. The black pauldron rims and adornments are of an unknown meaning, but assumed to hold one to the members of the legion. Although the legion's emblem –two crossed swords pointing downwards– can be thought to represent the Warbringers' nature as great swordsmen, there is no evidence to this, from their preference of gun-line warfare to Darzalas himself wielding a mace rather than a sword. Rather, it is a symbol of war in general, and the wars of Strelan unity in particular. The fact that they point downward is not innocuous: the IX fights to protect humanity, not to sate its own blood-thirst. A sizeable amount warriors chose to add decorative shields upon their armour, to display the arms of their birth province, serving as additional identifiers. Cloaks, although not as prevalent as the XII legion leg-skirts, were a staple of officer uniform, bearing many adornments of personal significance. Their main colour is an indicator of the individual's position within the legion: white for line officers, azure for members of the Bogatyr order, sable for those of the Tryzub guard, and purpure for Asklepians. Veterancy was marked by spreading the gold to either the helm or the left pauldron, and other segments of the armour, making senior members of the Bogatyrs sometimes mistakable for Wardens of Light. Conversely, an extension of the black scheme was a sign of dishonour, these legionnaires who had utterly failed their legion and Primarch covering their entire right arm, and adorning the Bar Sinister of bastard sons. Princely Heraldry When Kozja had decreed that all his soldiers should bear a golden right arm in their uniforms, had didn’t make any deference for tactical or personal markings. Holding to that tradition, the Legionaries of the IX therefore had to find other ways to denote different units on the battlefield: these generally took the form of Jagollithic runes engraved into knee guards or on helms. However, no sections were put aside to denote a soldier’s principate, which began to grate at the Warbringers’ notorious pride. The 2nd Principate Vostala were the first to circumvent the rule, by having the twin axes embossed in gold on their right shoulder guard - as such, they were able to show their homeworld, while keeping to the rule of the golden arm. These markings rapidly spread to the other Principates, and soon were to be seen the winged sword of Darzala, the Zalmoxite sun, and the bow of Zhar, finally showing the different parts of the Legion. Darzalan, Strelan, and Jagellonic Aquilas Legion Colours Legion Badge Notable Quotes Feel free to add your own By the Warbringers Feel free to add your own About the Warbringers Gallery Steel Guard_Iconography.png|IXth Legion ('Steel Guard') iconography Warbringers.png|Warbingers Legion iconography Warbringer.png|Warbringers Legion appearance Category:Legions Category:Suzerainty Category:Warbringers